Fieldays hold out the begging bowl
OPINION: When someone says “we don’t want a handout, we need a hand up” it usually means they have both palms out and they want your money.
The Hound is picking up a lot of negative feedback around the traps about the arrogant stance of National Fieldays organisers.
It’s obvious, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the cancellation of mass gatherings, a big event like Fieldays (due to be held in June) seems a remote, if not impossible, prospect of taking place.
However, despite this Fieldays is deliberately procrastinating about refunding those customers who have already forked out huge fees for this year’s event.
It is also putting heat on those exhibitors who have not paid yet – telling them to pay up now or miss out on securing a site for the 2021 event.
Compare this with Central Districts Field days, which had to cancel its event with less than one week’s notice yet still refunded 100% of exhibitor site fees immediately.
Surely, in these troubled times National Fieldays should be doing the right thing and refunding its exhibitors.
Three New Zealand agritech companies are set to join forces to help unlock the full potential of technology.
As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.

OPINION: Winston Peters has described the decision to sell its brand to Lactalis and disperse the profit to its farmer…
OPINION: The Hound reckons a big problem with focusing too much on the wrong goal - reducing livestock emissions at…